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I too have been struggling with similar issues over the last two weeks. I’ve gotten away from logging my food into the Baritastic App, I’m not drinking enough fluids, and I’m definitely not hitting my protein goals most days. I also have found myself snacking on foods that I would’ve chosen pre-surgery and I really need to nip that in the bud. I think that it’s no coincidence that they harp on fluid and protein intake when you’re in the pre-op phase. I really think those two things are key for successful and sustainable weight loss post surgery.

To add to everyone’s great advice above, don’t forget, your rate of loss slow as you get nearer to your body’s set weight. This is the weight your body is happiest at & will settle at. The surgery resets this from where it was but it may not be the weight you want to be. To get below this weight you will have to consume less & do more. It will be more of a struggle & difficult to maintain that lower weight because you’re fighting your body. Personally I’d put on weight at 1500 but I’m short at 5’3”, not very active, more finely built & 57. But before surgery I couldn’t lose eating 900 calories. But don’t think your weight loss is over yet. You’ll get where you’re supposed to be in your time & there’s nothing wrong with that.

Howdy! I've been so busy enjoying this new freedom called get up and MOVE! I have joined a fun dance group called Body Groove and it is a fantastic way of getting up and get moving with low impact. It's an app you can download on your TV and dance along. Overall I have been able to resume normal eating, but the raw food are still kinda iffy. I think I'll wait awhile before introducing salads. I need to stay focused on protein and hydration. With my morning protein drink (coffee replacement) and adding liquid protein to my water, I haven't had any issues with meeting my protein requirements. I find more than anything is that I'm tired. I was successfully able to give blood and my iron count was 13.5 so I know my nutrients and supplements are absorbing. I go for my 3 month checkup soon and they'll be analyzing my blood labs a bit closer. Constipation is a real issue. even though I take a Dulcolax chew about once a week, I think I'm gonna have to up it to every other day. Suppositories work real well, but I hate when it has had to get that far. I also started drinking a green smoothie most days to get in my trace minerals in wheat grass powder, veggies, and adaptogens from mushrooms. Anyone else try Ka'Chava? I really like it My weight stalled around 207/208 for about three weeks but I dropped a considerable amount of inches. So far I am staying within the healthy weight loss bracket. I'm anxious to post my Onederland scale picture soon!!

(Warning: this is long) tldr; for ME, in MAINTENANCE, carbs consumption makes little difference to my weight. K. My NUT didn’t give me a carb goal/limit per se, but did instruct me to aim for my meals to consist of 25% carbs/starches (with another 25% being protein and the remaining 50% to be low-glycemic veggies). With that said, i did my own thing (and told her so): i ended up doing ultra-low carb, i.e., less than 25g NET carbs per day. Got to goal in 7 months, remained carbophobic, lost a few more pounds and basically still went out of my way to avoid them. I wasn’t ultra-low carb as during weight loss phase, but i was still pretty low. Eventually, i started eating more and nowadays (4 years post), i probably eat as much carbs as a “regular” person. I have remained under goal weight this entire time. These are my takeaways of going low-carb (and this is from MY experience, YMMV) 1) weight loss is rapid. but you need to remain low carb for an extended period. If i carb up on a day, the weight loss slows down or pauses. There is a science to this phenomenon regarding ketosis, the explanation of which is beyond the scope of my post (just google it if ur interested). Also want to say that i was also ultra-low calorie so obvs that contributed! 2) there is a period of a few days that, once passed, my cravings for carbohydrates went away. (Which is why once u start, stick to it because u may have to go thu the “white-knuckle” phase again to alleviate urself of the cravings (see note 1 above) 3) now here is the kicker: during MAINTENANCE (i cant say if this applies to weight loss phase because i didn’t try it)…i discovered that, for ME, it does not matter if my 1800 cals average i eat a day consists of 20g of carbs or 200g. My weight stays the same regardless. What does make a difference is CALORIES. So long as my calories stay at around 1800 (however it is comprised) then im good. 4) carb consumption affects my looks. When i low carb, my body is more defined (which i like) and my face more gaunt (which I don’t like). These days my face is lovely (lol), but my body could be better. Mind u i have also been slacking on the exercise front so that is also a factor, but i digress. In any case, the point is i am still basically the same weight as my low-carb maintenance days. And that concludes my dissertation for this evening lol. P.S. I want to point out also that i am NOT insulin-resitant, nor suffer any other medical conditions that affect my weight, nor take any medications that would either. So this may not be everyone’s experience. P.P.S. Sorry this was so long!

it's hard to say. I would lose weight on 1500 calories (albeit slowly), but some people would gain. I've been in maintenance for several years (and have been hanging out on bariatric boards for about eight years). I know people who can maintain on 2000 calories, and others who can only eat 1200. You can always experiment with different calorie ranges and see at what point you lose, at what point you maintain, and at what point you start gaining. That's really the only way to do it other than the RMR test that someone above mentioned. at any rate, 1500 calories isn't that much. Some people do gain on that, but then, you're pretty tall so I'm guessing you'd either maintain or lose on that much. also, the closer you get to a normal BMI, the slower weight loss becomes. That's just a fact. 1200 calories is super low, unless you're short or have an incredibly low metabolism. Most people can't really sustain that forever. Personally, I'd give up the ghost on that one. As I said, even 1500 is pretty low for most people....sustainable, but low. I wouldn't worry about it unless you're gaining on that. for the record, I can maintain on 1500-1700 calories. If I'm doing some heavy exercise, I can go up to 1800 or so - maybe even higher.

Do NOT compare yourself to others. Everything will be different from your recovery to fluids to weight loss and stalls. Just trust the process and you will lose weight.

I had no hair loss at all. Kept my vitamins up and was fine. Also no side effects with wind etc and I panicked before surgery thinking I’d have both. WLS Bypass is exactly what it is, you have a smaller stomach so smaller appetite. Everything else more or less stays the same. Best thing I ever done and to think I could’ve cancelled because of my fears. Go for it. It will be wonderful

Like the title says. I’ve lost 110 pounds and have another 20 to go to be a ‘normal’ BMI. 14 months post op. However my calorie intake has shot up as I’m hungry again. Now eating between 1300 to 1500 a day. I’m tall (5ft 9). I guess I’m panicking that the days of 1200 calories and lower are gone and from here on in it’s about slow weight loss and/or maintenance. I feel like I’m heating so much at 1500 calories but logically I know I’m not. But it’s frightening. I work out two to three times a week and walk loads. Am I eating too much now? Did anyone else panic as more calories came into your eating habits.

So I just went to a general surgeon for a clinic visit bc I have a hiatal hernia and he recommended I have gastric bypass. My BMI is 44 and he said he couldn’t repair my hiatal hernia unless I did the weight loss surgery. I’m waiting for their office to call me to tell me if my insurance will cover it. I’m hopeful that I will be able to get it done and lose weight and get healthy. Does anyone have any thoughts on gastric bypass? I downloaded an audiobook about it and the author said he made this website so I joined.

screwed up menstrual cycles seem to be very common in the first few weeks or months after surgery. It's supposedly due to the fact that estrogen is stored in fat cells, and it starts flooding your body during rapid weight loss. It'll stabilize once your weight loss slows way down. a couple of people mentioned Depo-Provera. I don't know about the side effects after WLS as I didn't have WLS until I was post-menopausal, but I was on Depo when I was in my 30s. I gained about 45 lbs on it, and I switched to another birth control method after my ob/gyn couldn't guarantee that the weight gain would eventually stop. It has to do with its effect on hormones.

Sorry for the novel folks, but maybe before getting to tips and tricks, let's talk a bit about what causes plateaus: First, the most common reason for any stall, including the dreaded 3-week stall is simply that you are retaining more water. There are a few reasons this happens, but around the 3-week mark it comes down to the fact that your body is adjusting to a low carb intake after converting from glycogen to ketones for energy. More water is needed to burn glycogen, so you were retaining more water pre-surgery than you are now that you're using primarily ketones for energy. At about the 3-week mark, your body eventually recognizes that the water loss is long term, so other mechanisms have started kicking in to start holding on to more water. This water loss due to the change between glycogen and ketones is the primary reason for "keto flu", and something that increases your risk of dehydration early after surgery. The other "reasons" for plateaus really don't apply as much at the 3 week mark, but will become more important later in the process. Let's cover those too though so you're prepared: As you lose more weight, your overall metabolic rate will slow down. People sometimes think fat is not metabolically active, but that's not true. Less fat means your metabolism slows down, even if you retain the same amount of muscle. As you lose weight, it takes less effort to move, so the amount of calories you burn from activity also drops quite a bit. As you progress, you'll be able to eat more and especially if you're not tracking intake closely by weighing and measuring your food, you can easily be eating a lot more than you think. This one may be TMI for some, but you may simply be retaining more stool. This is going to be hard for some people to hear, but I can tell you one thing it's not, and that's hormones. Yes, various hormonal processes negatively impact weight loss in a myriad of ways, but they don't overcome basic physics: if you eat less than you are burning, you'll lose weight. What these hormones can do if they're out of whack, is not good things like slowing your metabolism, increasing your hunger, screwing with water weight, or even fooling you into thinking you're eating less than you are. So, with all that sciency stuff out of the way, what do we actually do if we're in a stall? Well, I think it depends on when it happens and how long it lasts: If it's early (a.k.a. the 3-week stall), just keep doing what you're doing and you should be fine. I know people don't like that advice, but as I said, it's just water, so don't worry about it. Later on, especially if the stall is lasting longer than 2-3 weeks. that's when I think it's important that you look closely at what you are actually burning, as well as really tracking what you are eating. If you don't know your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate), you should. The closer you are to goal, the harder it is to get the balance right between intake and output to make sure you're not eating too much, so fixing this starts with knowing your BMR and accurate food logging. There's a lot of anecdotal advice thrown around about "ways to break a stall", but there seems to be little scientific evidence for any of it. Most of it certainly won't hurt to try, e.g. breaking up your routine in terms of diet or exercise, but just understand that this change may or may not have had any impact. If it makes you feel better to be proactive, go for it. Longer term, there is one piece of solid advice that's backed up by lots of research: Even if you don't really like working out, do it anyway. Those WLS patients that make a regular habit of exercising for 45 minutes to an hour most days a week are significantly more likely to reach their goal and maintain the weight loss. (One caveat here: significantly changing your exercise routine can make you retain water and possibly even add muscle, so don't freak out if you see a stall or even a gain.) I'll take that exercise advice one step further and say you really should be doing some form of strength training. This is also backed up by lots of studies, but the great thing about strength training is that it makes your burn more calories even at rest (in other words, it increases your metabolic rate). There are lots of other benefits, but the metabolic benefit is the most germaine to the stall question. Those that do strength training are less likely to stall during weight loss.

So, I have seen a lot of people getting the revision from sleeve to bypass due to GERD and I have seen people getting the sleeve to bypass revision due to weight gain years after the original surgery. I am not experiencing either of these issues. I had my surgery in the middle of 2021. I was around 300 pounds then. It is now more than a year later. I have only lost around 70 pounds. I am still losing, but very slowly. I feel like due to my starting weight, I should have lost more than that in this time period. I am not ungrateful for the weight I have lost so far, but I want to lose much more and I am feeling a bit stagnant. I want to truly get down to a normal weight. I feel like it will take me forever to do that with the sleeve, so I want to get the gastric bypass. I feel like getting a revision to bypass would jumpstart the weight loss for me again. But I am wondering if I would even be able to get approved for a revision in my position, since I am not suffering from any other medical conditions and I haven't actually regained any of my weight. Is there anyone else in my position who has gotten a revision from sleeve to bypass so soon after the original surgery with no other medical conditions, just because they felt like they didn't lose enough weight with the original surgery?

Hi all, Just a shout out to the November 2021 guys - how is everyone doing now? I'm exactly 11 months post op now, 5lbs below my original goal of 160. I lost 10lbs last month after losing only 3 the previous month so stalls are clearly still a thing - I thought that was me done but apparently not! My ideal weight (what even is that???) is 147lbs apparently, which is now 8lbs away, so the closer I can get to that the happier I will be, but I'm not setting an official new goal of anything, seems clear the loss will just stop when it stops. Then starts the *really* hard work. I hope everyone is happy with how they are doing. Please check in and let me know - seems like yesterday we were just starting this journey together. 😍

You have lost 21 pounds in a month. That is very good for weight loss surgery. As for the timing of it, it seems like sometimes the loss happens in a weird way, like not evenly. Some people will lose 5 pounds steadily every week, but other people will lose 20 pounds in 2 weeks and then lose nothing for the next 2 weeks. It can be weird like that. But overall, you have lost 21 pounds in 1 month, which is good.

Yeah I went through this ten years ago, when Lap Bands were still a thing. They're antiquated torture devices and I can't understand a medical doctor placing a device now that is comparable to giving a patient symptoms of an eating disorder. I would seek a second opinion about a revision at a different bariatric center about a different weight loss surgery BEFORE you have permanent damage done from the Lap Band. Best wishes to you.

So what did your Drs advise you do as far as carbs? Mine says that they don't really limit carbs and that they believe that carbs will give you energy and then you will be more active which will then lead to weight loss. They believe that balance is the key. Looking though through threads and youtube, most of the people seem to be on a low carb diet like keto without the added fat. I do want to be successful but if I could be successful and still eat more carbs I think I would be happier. Carbs are the only thing I am craving but I'm only a month out from surgery and carbs to me seem to be a slippery slope and I'm afraid that if I allow myself to eat carbs then I'll start eating them too much and snacking on crackers or something. Since surgery I have limited myself to 40 or less carbs per day and yesterday I had my one month visit with the dietitian and he said I needed to up my carbs to around 30 per meal. So what did your plan say about carbs and if you were allowed carbs, did you lose weight fast or was is slower? The speed of weight loss I know is individual, but if it seems to be a factor I want to know.

Often in the past during my weight loss efforts and when I'd get off track and eat off of plan, maybe have more alcohol than usual, I'd realize how much harder it was to get refocused. I also realized that during that time, I'd have caused some acid imbalances by poor food choices and booze. I wouldn't have traditional heartburn sensations, but a constant gnawing hunger. Starting to take an acid reducer like Prilosec or something (not the gummies or tums) would help me get back on track. An acidy tummy can feel like hunger. I remember that now that I've had sleeve and am trying to stay focused and on track. Also, if you got off track - there is a good chance you are dehydrated. Are you meeting water/fluid goals? If not, start there. Are you constipated from eating crap food? Another good place to start. Probiotics can also help reset your gut flora - that can cause cravings when disrupted by processed foods, sugar and drinks. Maybe focusing on a couple things at a time and giving yourself a little grace can help. Self sabotage can continue when our minds are in a bad space because of getting off track. You can do this! You had fun, now it's over. No biggie.

I started my period 2 weeks early while on pre-op diet. Started the day of my surgery. That was NOT fun. Nurses told me that it is a common thing among women during rapid weight loss pre-surgery. Now about 5 weeks later, I'm a week late. I have felt PMS'y for the entire week (actually about 10 days) without the relief of a period starting. It's maddening, but I am reassured by my bariatric staff that this is all usual.

Thanks for the info guys. I'm not curently on birth control, never have been. My weight loss is starting to slow down since i'm almost 10 months in from surgery i'm maybe only losing a Kilo per week and then some weeks nothing. Me and my husband want to start a family next year.

I am a year and a half out and have been around these boards for the same amount of time. This has popped up quite a few times for many women having unusual or missed cycles, spotting, heavier, lighter, cramping etc. it seems to stabalize as the weight loss slows down. I am on birth control and I had breakthrough bleeding and longer periods for about three months as best as I can recall.

My general response when I'm asked about my weight loss is that I did a year-long medically supervised weight loss program, which is also basically true. The two people who were the most hostile about my decision to undergo surgery were my sister and a close friend, both of whom are quite obese themselves. I don't think it was about protecting me. My guess is that they felt threatened by the fact that I was taking a positive step to improve my life and lose the weight.

I've been doing pretty well. My stall is finally over. I was stuck at the same weight for about 3 weeks, now it is falling off. I'm down 30 lbs since surgery and 53 lbs total. I have had some issues with constipation and my hair has been falling out (which I don't have much to spare anyway because of the alopecia from PCOS). My knees haven't hurt at all and we are going to Disney next month. I am still dreading fitting into the rides, but I'm hoping it goes well. I was pulled aside in front of everyone in line to get checked in a test seat to see if I fit last time we went to Universal. Everyone was watching, and it was super embarrassing. I don't want to go through that again.

I am leaving my hair long until after surgery because of the shedding lol right now it is most of the way down my back. I wear it in a bun a lot but I am going to enjoy it while I can!! Plan is to chop it off 3-4 months after surgery to my shoulders. I already shed hair a LOT (my husband doesn’t know how I am not bald) so really wonder how bad it’s going to be for me

to those of you post op who had sleep apnea and cpap/bipap machines….. Did your sleep apnea improve? How long/how much weight before it did? Did you stop using your machine/when? i am down about 50 lbs already since my in lab sleep titration test (70+ since my at home sleep study) and I was severe and needing bipap. (tmi but i was having issues with hypoxic morning migraines and sleep paralysis) I hate my machine but like not getting hypoxic at night so I still wear it. Just went to sleep dr and they were not really helpful with the question. said I would need to loose “significant” weight before I would need retesting or come off the machine, kinda discounting my loss so far… said if i had a “miraculous” weight loss over the next few months to call, otherwise they would see me in a year. Just wanted to hear experiences from everyone, but especially high bmi peeps thanks!!

I'm glad for a couple of things for you. That you have a team willing to work to find answers. That the surgery DID actually happen - has to be a relief to you! My doc said the hernias can cause some swelling, I wonder if that is a factor here? Or if they repaired it and it recurred so quickly, why? Keep after it! Finding answers and staying the course. I KNOW you must want to quit some days. Don't do that. Try to focus on the behaviors that you are doing, that will ultimately lead to a healthier body. And when your body gets sorted out, you will be in such a better place to have tangible, noticeable losses. Cheering you on!!